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Five years after surviving the bizarre Machido massacre in
which their parents were killed along with hundreds of other
innocents, Ranmaru Shindou and his younger sister, Saya, have
become patrol officers in the local police force. Ranmaru
is assigned to Tokki, the Special Mobile Investigation Force.
During his first day in his new position, he encounters and
recognises a young red-haired woman, Sakura, who he learns
is a member of another police unit known as Tokko, the Special
Public Safety Task Force. Sakura has been appearing in a recurring
dream that has been haunting Ranmaru since the day of the
Machido tragedy. The mystery deepens when investigations into
a recent murder spree suggest the latest killings may be related
to the earlier massacre. Then the holes begin to appear; bottomless
pits from which inhuman creatures are reportedly emerging...
Tokko
is based on the best-selling manga by Tohru Fujisawa. This
13 episode anime series brings together X-Files-style
conspiracies, supernatural terror, sexy crime-fighting detectives
and regular doses of limb severing swordplay in an apocalyptic
tale of demons running amok in modern-day Japan. I suppose
the best way to describe it is X-Files meets Hellraiser.
Volume
One includes the first five episodes:
Dawn
- Awakening: Five years have passed since the Machida
massacre. Hundreds of people lost their lives in this strange
and still unsolved crime. Ranmaru Shindo, and his younger
sister Saya, were two of the survivors. Both are now working
in the police force. During his transfer to the Shibuya precinct,
Ranmaru encounters a woman who has plagued his nightmares
since the massacre. He discovers that this red-haired woman
is an elite officers from the Tokko division. Ranmaru, with
his partner Ichiro Hanazono, investigate their first case
of homicide with their superior Kaoru Kunikida. A group of
what appear to be drug addicts attack the investigation team.
It soon becomes obvious that these are some sort of hybrid
creatures. Bullets seems to have no effect on them, and just
when it looks like the police are in serious trouble, the
mysterious red-haired girl appears and slices up the evil
gang, and the strange insect like creatures that leave the
human bodies.
Dream
- A Girl Appears: After saving Ranmaru and his team, it
is hinted that the red-haired woman is also one of the survivors
of the Machida massacre. During an investigation by Kunikida
and his colleague, Shogo Muramasa, it is discovered that the
Machida massacre may have been covered up by the Tokko division
and the Public Security Investigation Agency (PSIA). It appeared
that their were reports of a demonic killer in one of the
strange incidents in Kameida. Yet again the Tokki detectives
are forced to confront the demon-controlled suspects, only
for the Tokko division to arrive in time to kill them once
again. During an investigation on Ranmaru's old neighbourhood,
he realises that the red-haired girl was his old neighbour
Sakura Rokujo.
Bond
- Moments Would be Lost: Ranmaru
reflects on the recent strange events, as well as on the Machida
massacre. A mysterious tattoo has appeared on his right arm
and his little sister is concerned about where it came from.
Saya forces Ranmaru to visit the local police hospital to
get a check-up. While waiting for the results, Ranmaru discovers
a secret PSIA-guarded hospital ward which houses Sakura's
younger brother, who was almost a victim in the Machida incident.
Meanwhile the strange insect like creatures that can possess
human bodies, infiltrated the hospital and possess some of
the hospital's medical personnel. The local police seal off
the building and come up with a cover story that an insane
patient is on the rampage inside the hospital.
Omen
- Corpses in the Laboratory: Trying to play matchmaker,
Saya organises a blind date for Ranmaru. Ranmaru isn't really
interested until he learn that his date is a forensic expert
working in the very building his boss is eager to infiltrate
in order to find out more about these demon possession. Ranmaru
goes out with Yukino Shiraishi, and discovers that the demons
who were responsible for the Machida massacre, and for the
death of his police comrades, are believed to be of European
origin. According to the legend, the demons were summoned
by alchemists in order to achieve immortality during the Middle
Ages. Sadly the demons tricked them and when summoned brought
forward more demons than the alchemists could control. When
Ranmaru discovers that Yukino's mother died at the same time
as the Machida incident, he fears for her life and heads of
to the forensics building to check on her.
Demon
- A Father, all Alone: Yukino tells Ranmaru that her father
is involved in researching the strange creatures that Ranmaru
has encountered. Ranmaru requests a meeting with Dr. Shirashi,
who seems fairly open - even explaining to him the legend
of the Box of Dirge, the artefact that the alchemists used
in the Middle Ages to summon the demons. Ranmaru discovers
that the Box of Dirge broke into 108 pieces, each piece being
hidden inside a demon. When Ranmaru pushes for more information
Dr. Shirashi calls a sudden end to the meeting. Entering the
abandoned Special Organisms Laboratory, Ranmaru discovers
that the entire staff have been transformed into half-human/demon
hybrids.
Extras
include a photo gallery and trailers for other releases. Despite
the press release claims that the DVD also contains a "Making
of" featurette and a "Cast Forum", I could
find neither of these extras on the DVDs that were sent to
us for review.
Like
the Ghost in the Shell releases from Manga Entertainment,
these episodes come on two discs. The episodes are the same
on both discs, but the second disc includes a DTS soundtrack.
I really am at a loss to understand why. There are plenty
of examples of DVDs that offer DTS soundtracks as well as
stereo, 5.1 and a couple of audio commentaries, so why couldn't
Manga release the DTS tracks on the first disc. To be perfectly
honest, they could do away with the stereo track - all TVs
now play 5.1 soundtracks as stereo these days.
Ignoring
that slight moan, Tokko is well worth adding to your
anime collection.
Pete
Boomer
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